Spartan: Total Warrior

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We face the Roman hordes. Updated impressions, new footage and screens, plus an all-new interview.

By Juan Castro

Recreating the chaos of war has been at the forefront of videogame development for years. And it has been for good reason - participating in epic battles, historically accurate or not, has formed the backbone of many gamers' most cherished digital fantasies. In all seriousness, charging down a crimson battlefield to clash with hundreds of enemy soldiers has an underlying layer of coolness that's hard to deny. Truth be told, it's just as hard to deny as it is to recreate as a videogame. Which is why games such as Rome: Total War and Dynasty Warrior are so rare in the games industry.

Having said that, there's another epic rarity on the horizon. The upcoming Spartan: Total Warrior, coming from Sega and Creative Assembly, sets out to capture the look and feel of full-scale battles. Set in ancient Greece, Total Warrior pits gamers as "The Spartan," a rookie in the Spartan army charged with protecting Sparta from the advancing Roman army. Keeping the invaders from breaching Sparta's walls requires the Spartan, along with hundreds of his brothers-in-arms, to cut through waves of Roman soldiers. And by cutting, we mean decapitation, dismemberment, burning, electrocution and death by internal explosion.

All in a days work for a warrior in the Spartan army. What makes the game unique, apart from the scope of each encounter, is the manner in which each encounter plays out. Total Warrior refrains from making the mass of units on-screen the only highlight of the experience. Instead of just slicing through countless legionnaires to proceed, Total Warrior blends puzzle elements and varied mission objectives to keep things interesting. Still, the game still includes several sections where the focus is the unrelenting massacre of Roman soldiers, so there's a good mix of everything.

Recently, we had chance to see the latest build of Total Warrior in action. The build, while unfinished, contained a majority of the game, including a decent level of graphical polish. We toured through a substantial portion of the game, including the initial assault on Sparta to the destruction of Roman strongholds later in the game. As it stands, Total Warrior looks to succeed in its mission of delivering an epic struggle filled with all the action, gore and ancient lore a gamer could want.

The action in Total Warrior splits between three main acts (Warrior, Hero and Legend) each of which contain four chapters. The story blends the coolest aspects of history, ancient lore and science-fiction to weave an altogether unique take on epic warfare. Spoken narrative precedes each chapter, with a series of cutscenes furthering the story mid-mission. Players will proceed through the game in linear fashion, completing ever-changing mission objectives along the way.

The game begins with the Roman Army laying siege to Sparta, which stands as the only city that hasn't fallen under Roman rule. Since the city stands between Rome and ultimate conquest, the Roman army decides to send everything it has to bring down the city walls. In addition to legions of soldiers, Rome unleashes a behemoth mechanical man on Sparta. Think of it as a living, 500-foot tall statue hell-bent on crushing the city and everyone in it. In front of the advancing statue come three giant towers, each of which contain a bunch of bloodthirsty Romans within its walls. In front of the towers, and just below the Spartan archer placements, come groups of engineers working to dismantle Sparta's mammoth wooden gates.

The action starts when the first wave of enemy soldiers pour out of the three towers and over the city wall. The first objective is to kill several centurions, all of whom benefit from the defense of their subordinates. Afterward, the mission switches to defense as our hero works to protect three allies as they place explosives on the enemy towers. Once the towers crash down in front of the city wall, focus shifts to the advancing mechanical man. This portion of the mission requires the juggling of three tasks: firing volleys at the mechanical man by firing three catapults, pouring hot oil on the engineers attacking the city gates and finally slicing through whatever Roman soldier stands in the way of completing the first two tasks.